The present invention relates to the field of telephone dialing and switching systems. More particularly, the invention relates to telephone circuitry systems for converting one telephone number, expressed as a trade name or unique and distinctive combination of alphabet letters and numbers having personal or business significance, to another telephone number of little or no numerical significance.
A number of specific telephone services are typically requested by dialing a predetermined number or small grouping of numbers. Thus, for example, throughout the United States "0" is dialed to reach a local telephone operator, "411" is dialed to reach a local information operator, and "911" is dialed to reach a local police and fire emergency service operator. The digit receiver of each central office, servicing a vast group of telephone customers (subscribers), is programmed to recognize these specific numbers dialed by its customers and to route calls to such numbers through the correct circuits to the call terminating operator.
Telephone subscribers, particularly business subscribers, are constantly seeking to have telephone numbers assigned to them (individuals or businesses) which have some number, letter sequence or word significance so that calling parties (personal or business) will remember the assigned number or numbers without having to make reference to local phone directories. Domestic telephone numbers include the number plan area code number designation (3 digits), exchange number (3 digit switch sequence number) and subscriber assigned number (4 digit recognition sequence number from 0000 to 9999 which is unique to each exchange), dialed in sequence. Many subscribers hunt laboriously through exchange and assigned numbers (total of 7 digits) within their geographical area to find a telephone number providing a desired number, letter sequence or word of personal or business significance. For example, telephone numbers that end in three "0" digits are popular and hard to obtain. Further, a new and used automobile dealer having a distinct logo or trade name such as "CAR CITY" may not be located where an exchange number is available which has the digits "2 2 7" so that the logo or name can be alphabetically secured as an assigned subscriber number 227-2489.
The basic alignment of the ten numerical digits (with associated letters of the alphabet) for typical and modern push button or TOUCH TONE telephones is presented below along with the additional star (*) and pound (#) symbol buttons of such phones.
______________________________________ 1 2 ABC 3 DEF 4 GHI 5 JKL 6 MNO 7 PRS 8 TUV 9 WXY * 0 Oper. # ______________________________________
The older rotary dial telephones have the same sequence of ten numerical digits (1-0) with the same associated groupings of alphabet letters. Rotary phones, however, do not have the star (*) or pound (#) symbols as dialing options.
A substantial problem exists with respect to the hunt for numbers that can provide identity significance, i.e., within each geographical area there are only a limited number of exchanges. For example, the State of Nevada has a population that dictates that the entire state be assigned only a single NPA area code number, i.e., 702. Within the Las Vegas, Nev. area (including the immediate surrounding localities) there are approximately 95 telephone exchanges. In Las Vegas the so-called "Strip Area" is internationally famous for its hotel and casino establishments. Among this area's better known hotels is Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino. It is most probable that such establishment would like to have assigned to it the basic telephone number (within the 702 area) 223-7277 since such number could be dialed via alphabetical letter designation by the well recognized word "CAESARS." Although the subscriber assigned (4 digit) number 7277 for the 8 exchanges in the geographical area within which Caesars Palace is situated might be available or acquired by the hotel organization, there is no exchange within such geographical area (or within the general Las Vegas area) that has the 3 digit exchange number 223. Thus, under present telephone number assignment constraints, Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino is precluded from obtaining a phone number within the 702 number plan area that can be dialed by the trade name "CAESARS." Further, Caesars Palace may not be able to obtain an "800" national reserved dialing number that can include, as the last seven digits, the numerical sequence 223-7277 which spells out CAESARS.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a telephone dialing and switching system for converting a customer selected or created telephone number, expressed as a trade name or unique and distinctive combination of alphabet letters and numbers having personal or business significance, to another telephone number (assigned to the customer by a local telephone company) which has little or no personal or business significance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide telephone dialing and switching means for converting a customer selected and specified sequence of alphabet letters and/or numbers of one or more letter and/or digit length which has personal or business significance to the customer (as dialed by a third party), to a second telephone number having a standard number of digits with little or no personal or business significance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an alternative parallel telephone dialing and switching system (for installation in central telephone office facilities) through which a telephone service subscriber's personally selected and specified distinctive trade identity name or letter/number combination (of one or more letter and/or digit length) is converted into a second telephone number (assigned by the central telephone office) having a standard number of digits with little or no personal or business significance.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a means for translating and converting a telephone subscriber-created telephone dialing number, having personal or business significance to the subscriber, into a second telephone number (assigned by the central telephone office) having a standard number of digits without the need to reprogram the central office switching circuitry and without significantly increasing the average time required to connect a dialer of the subscriber-created number to the subscriber of such number.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following summary and detailed description of the invention together with the accompanying drawing figure.